Thursday, November 29, 2012

I
probably won’t remember this date. But I’ll remember everything that happened
since dinner tonight until breakfast tomorrow.

After
5 and a half years in Miri, my housemate Kah Wai is finally going home. A week
later, he’ll start his working life, by which time I shall have prayed for him.

See
it this way, praying for someone has become my personal method of goodwill.
I’ve been praying for Eileen, Bob, the kids in CTLC, the Giants and Eli, for the occasional somebody who
has something on that I could remember.

Last
year, I can still remember clearly. It was at this main door, 3 steps from
where I’m sitting now, Ah Ming waved good bye to me, seeing me go away for one
last time. He stood there until I’ve gone out of sight. That semester, that
year, because of the same classes we were taking and the amount of time we
spent together doing things, we became close, sort of re-introduce ourselves to
each other. I used to think of him as an obedient school boy who doesn’t do
much, while he probably thought of me as a punk. I guess we realized we were a
bit part of each other. That was my favourite semester because of how settled
down we were, and how matured we were.

I
can’t remember the last time I saw Debbie, probably the night they came back
with Nasi Lemak for me.

Tuesday I think.

She’d
gone home too. Just this morning. And all that was left for Kah Wai to do was
saying goodbye to us, I guess we could say closed friends.

See
I’ve never had the problem of talking about myself, it is always more that
people are too bored of it. But I guess I hold no secrets from him. I
remembered that Sunday night I came back from KFCK, after telling Eileen I love
her.

Seems like it was only yesterday, and yet so much things have happened. I
told him exactly what happened. And he, as wise as he has always been, said I
shouldn’t have done what I did. There was nothing waiting to happen one way or
the other. Sounds familiar? Like what Gerng would have said, and he has indeed
said it.

I
think we grew close when he organized the trip to climb KK Mountain. It was a
trip I’d want to happen again. Once in a life time thing. Cos of Ah Ming we got
together quite frequent, good food trips after badminton on Saturday
afternoons, the latest gossips, etc.

He
is never one of lonely. He knows so many people from his volunteer days, and
they all respected and liked him very much.

Today
we went for a drink right after dinner. I guess that is how he would have liked
his last night here to end. We had small talks, pork and beer. Things he
cherish the most after Debbie. We had too much, I guess, that we were all
wanting for toilet after about 45 minutes. We leaked in Robert’s house
(closest). And then the talk went on. I mean, I’ve grown so close with Robert
that we’ve been together with different people. Johnny’s talks would always be
more open, more realistic, and more public than personal. He’s always shy. Even
more so these days. I guess we all are anyway.

Normally
we wouldn’t talk much. Between him and me, we could talk all night. Kahwai is
the kind that could always find topics with anybody. But tonight, I guess under
the influence of alcohol, he spoke with a bit more depth than usual. We talked
about almost everything. Good bad and idiot. We talked about things that
normally only Robert would talk to me, and I would talk to Robert about. I
guess that is why he regards me as his buddy. But it was a three way talk.

Kahwai
obviously had a very frustrating second half of the year. He’s a very good
student, with plenty of curricular activities. I’d never agreed with the amount
of participation he had over the years, but he’s definitely built himself a
dream CV. Looking back, it’s even worse with the AIESEC chaps I know in NCTU.

He
spoke like a man who overcame those rejections. It is amazing how wonderfully
well he’s been carrying himself all these years. And today didn’t begin well,
his last day, he wasn’t particularly concerned about the remaining rental,
because those were the contractual terms. Then, his mom, like Tom Couglin’s old
school style, gave him a good hair dryer over the matter, and the owner of the
house didn’t want to buy his air conditioner.

Finally,
at the bar, the house agent called and said everything was settled, the house
owner would take the aircond, and the remaining rentals are voided. Good news
eh? Now that there’s an example for me to follow…

Just
another well deserved, and awfully good way for him to say goodbye to Miri
town.

Sorry
but I kept derailing from the story. We talked about work. And how does that
change the life perspective we were supposed to have, and the economy, the
education, the politics, vacation spots, old friends, and his relationship
matters.

See
I don’t know since when, that I’ve been able to just slow down, and absolutely
admire somebody’s goodness, sometimes greatness, that it’s starting to become a
heavily influence my hunger for more, or better, for that matter. Sort of being
overly grateful for even very small things.

He’s
just the perfect boy that every parent wants their kids to be, apart from being
a little less athletic, he’s perfect. He’s halfway on to a perfect life.

Kahwai
kept saying Miri has treated him well, for five years he’s been very happy,
very satisfied. I feel the same way, I guess most of us do. Which is why I kept
talking about here to her. Cos she
doesn’t look like she appreciated what she’d been through here, and instead
focusing on what she WOULD gain(probably not the best choice of word) in
Kuching. Well here’s one for the all timer, if you’d gain something, then you
wouldn’t want to go back that much. Vice versa, if you haven’t gain something,
that is why you keep thinking about the place. Well if you found what you were
looking for, maybe its just not fuckin’ there!

I
was surprised at how openly he talked of his stories, they weren’t scripted,
but were very honest, and from we are at now, could laugh at it as a learning
curve or a path of growth over the years.

Even
more surprising, we seem to have the same retirement ambition, three of us, to
be farmers. Something that I picked up from AIESEC last year in Taiwan.

We
even talked about philosophies, that life can be so much more, that how the
destiny is in our own hands, and how love always breaks you out of jail. Grow
wise, but always be good.

I’m
sorry to talk about what we talked about, but it’s just that I won’t remember
them, and I want them there when I choose to think about this night in the
future.

MORNING

Everything
happened so fast. I was woken up by Eric’s mom’s shadow outside of my window,
and I turned off the alarm and went to bath. Then I came out and saw kahwai and
them (still) chatting outside, and then his mom said she’ll leave it upto us,
and Eric followed kahwai to Enxin while I waited for Robert. Then we went to
the café too. Turns out, an old friend of Kahwai, probably of the same course
but went to Perth to finish.

I’d
seen him once or twice, always voiced out his opinions. Sometimes I wondered if
I were the same in the eyes of other people. I remembered he used to be more
serious. Nowadays a jobless schmuck and older (wiser), he’s got some humour in
him.

That
was how the morning went. And when we left, kahwai was going home to toilet, I
thought of seeing him once more, but ultimately I ended up in Robert’s house to
pick up my stuff and have a couple of FIFA 11 games before he too went out to
class.

And
then I slept until late afternoon.

It’s
hard to make good friends, and I don’t make a lot these days. He’s one of
those, him, Debbie, they are those decent folks that you wish nothing but the
best. I wish him them well. I’ll pray for them.